Haroon Rana, CEO, Easykonto

Today we're meeting Haroon Rana, CEO at Payroute Technology ApS (otherwise known as Easykonto!). They specialise in providing dedicated local business IBAN details and managing business payments with digital IBAN wallets.

Over to you Haroon - my questions are in bold:

Who are you and what's your background?

I am born and raised in Denmark, I am third generation with roots from Pakistan. I studied International Business at Copenhagen Business School and did a tricontinetal program in Global Supply Chain Management at The University of British Columbia and The Chinese University of Hong Kong. After working for the richest man in Denmark, Anders Holch Povlsen at Bestseller A/S and then a fortune 500 company called Servicenow, I started my entrepreneurial career.

What is your job title and what are your general responsibilities?

I am the CEO and my responsibilities are marketing and partnership, we want to become a one-stop-shop for financial services. We run founder-led marketing so I am the face of the company. I constantly work on improving and digitalizing manual workflows.

Can you give us an overview of your business?

Our competitive advantage is that SME can get their KYC & KYB done at one place and they can get dedicated ibans, payments gateways and pos card terminals at one stop from our +21 banking partners. We leverage social media and build fintech funnels that drive a lot of traffic from Some to our customized and tailored fintech CRM. Clients can sign in and use our platform to send and receive money from over 150 countries, and get local European details regardless of where their business is registered. Today we cater to businesses in over 146 jurisdictions.

Tell us how you are funded?

We are bootstraped we started out with our own savings and we are willing to look into raising money for expansion. Today we are present in Luxembourg, The United Emirates, Sweden, UK and Denmark.

What's the origin story? Why did you start the company? To solve what problems?

We started Easykonto.dk, because there was a huge demand for local danish ibans because of long waiting times and lack of profitability of incumbent danish banks to cater to small and medium sized enterprises. We make compliance simple, easy and digestible for small and medium sized entreprises. We tailor banking experience to local business and offer each client a dedicated account manager.

Who are your target customers? What's your revenue model?

Our clients are SME, in Denmark we cater mostly to business that does b2b transactions. We have helped clients that have complex financial and organizational infrastructures and cross border payments that usually requires a lot of oversight from conventional banks. As a bank challenger, we have achieved to position us as the go-to platform for companies that want to get an account quick with high service levels with dedicated account managers.

If you had a magic wand, what one thing would you change in the banking and/or FinTech sector?

I would make a plug and play data base for all financial instruments, the european market is fractured we have local payment railways that are not accessible easily. Furthermore I would develop a AI machine learning tool that instantly recognized wrong KYC/KYB documents and automatically informs clients. We often see that clients upload wrong utility bills or there is a thumb on their passport, these things should be easily detected in email correspondence so we reduce lead time to issue ibans. Finally I would develop a swift tracker api that is available for SME because the most frequent asked question is: 'Has my funds reached'. Giving them access to a simple dashboard where they can track status would be so beneficial.

What is your message for the larger players in the Financial Services marketplace?

Improve your marketing and SEO, it is hard to find your services. Your websites are cryptic and hard to decode what is that you actually do and you do you serve. As a new player we are constantly looking for partners, if you invest in partner programs we can increase the pool of money generated in the industry, remember it is not a zero sum game.

Where do you get your Financial Services/FinTech industry news from?

We are part of Copenhagen Fintech lab, and we are subscribed to their newsletter. We also attend fintech conferences around the world in order to stay up to date.

Can you list 3 people you rate from the FinTech and/or Financial Services sector that we should be following on LinkedIn, and why?

You should follow:

• Thomas Krogh Jensen (CEO of Copenhagen Fintech Lab) an incubation program elevating New Nordic Fintech Innovation.
• Ian Alderton: Chief Information Officer at Financial Conduct Authority
• Me! Haroon Tahir Rana: CEO of Easykonto, follow me on YouTube too, I post videos on fintech space and also writing a book about fintech which will be useful.

What FinTech services (and/or apps) do you personally use?

I use www.pleo.io because it is easy to top up their cards for client project and separate funds for different software payments categories to track if you are overpaying for your licences. And you can also issue cards to employees for company expenses.

What's the best new FinTech product or service you've seen recently?

Mufti Menk just launched: Wahed.com they are on a mission to create a Riba-free society. Riba is the arabic term for interest. They offer halal investments that are structured in accordance with Islamic principles. Their pricing is clear and straightforward. Plus, they manage their own ETFs and don't double dip on the portions of their portfolios that include their own funds.

Finally, let's talk predictions. What trends do you think are going to define the next few years in the FinTech sector?

I think with PSD2 it will become easier to integrate fintech and easier for regulators to track and monitor companies in accordance with AML policies. I think with the recent developments the world is becoming more and more deglobalized which will lead to more iban discrimination and need for more local solutions. Thus, there is a huge opportunity to localize payment solutions and offer local tailored solutions.

Thank you very much, Haroon!

Read more about Haroon on LinkedIn and find out more about Payroute Technology ApS at Easykonto.dk.